wow, what can I say, i think it's great no matter what the outcome that so many americans came out to vote and say what they had to say. you can do what you will with that, but that's something very positive.

2000 and 2004 also had very high election day turnouts; did those strike you as "something very positive"?

This is your blog and you can post what you want, but it would be a shame to see it ruined. I already read a lot of political blogs and sites, so if this is going to veer from design my interest will evaporate extremely quickly.

sydney - i was very encouraged in 2004 and am so glad to see people out voting as they did then. it's something i believe strongly in.

however, this is one day in over 6 months of writing my blog that i choose to say something about the state of america. and if i am happy about change i am glad i can say so.

i doubt you really think i'm going to go off on political tirades, i think after reading my blog as long as you have you know that. i have no plans to be commenting on politics as any regular agenda. as you said, that's not the point of my blog. but should you choose not to read any longer, i'll miss you. cheers!

I love your blog. And one of the things I like about blogging in general is how "democratic" it is. (Not in the partisan "democratic/republican" sense of the word...but in the original latin "democratia" sense of the word.) I do not choose my friends, reading materials, websites, etc. based upon their political leanings...but by their content.

Your personality really comes through on your blog. I'd hate to see you censor yourself for the sake of political correctness.

If you start advocating putting plastic covers on couches...I may re-think my position.

Just a statement of fact: if the blog is going to turn into "Let's have some politics with this new chair" then interest in it will diminish. This is Victoria's site and if this is how she wants to proceed than that is her prerogative, but it will be a shame to lose a good design source over subject matter that in no way relates to or enhances the supposed focus of the site. AT is a minefield and Maxwell is smart enough to keep the focus on design; do you want to invite in a whole host of problems when it is so unnecessary?

Sydney - you're a loyal reader and i love and appreciate that. but you know in your heart that's not where i'm going. it's one day, it's what i believe and i hope and trust that you will accept that. i have no intention of blogging on the state of the nation here.

Yikes, Syndey, I appreciate the fact that you want to keep the focus on design but design is influenced by the values, attitudes, beliefs and daily routines of the person who is doing the designing.

Our words reflect our reality and that just happened to be Victoria's "reality" for the day...Victoria, I love your site and your words could have been interpreted in many ways. Be yourself and those who like it will continue to read avidly....Thanks for a great photo for the day!!! :)

I love the photo, great color, and that you had a feeling to convey along with the image. This is what attracts me to blogs - why I keep reading this - we have freedom of speech on blogs that we just don't have anymore when we are writing for someone else. At least that's how I see it.

On (sorta) another note, do you own Paul Smith's book: You Can Find Inspiration in Everything (and if you can't, look again). I am a FIRM believer in this. FIRM. I think we can learn from everything in life, bad and good, and even our creativity is affected by, oftentimes, totally UNRELATED experiences in life.

Though I don't appreciate it when people use established arenas to suddenly tout a political agenda, I absolutely think that it's appropriate to make references to the rest of the world in general. Victoria, I certainly didn't get the sense that you were trying to use your blog, a new-yet-already-estabished design source, to force your political viewpoint. In fact, it would be a shame to have to isolate each part of our lives from the others. My home and design aesthetic has pieces of my personal values all over it. Thanks, Victoria, for making your statement on such an important day in our country.

thanks so much everybody for these thought provoking comments (sydney, you too, since you instigated this healthy conversation!). no matter what our views, i find it encouraging and uplifting that people are talking about issues again and really taking part in the political process.

i also find it quite interesting that although this is a design blog (and i do try in to include cultural and topical events as well), that I think this may be the most comments one of my posts has ever received!

perhaps we need a political forum more than we thought. it won't be here, per se, but i always look forward to all my readers' comments.